I am using SH shell and I am trying to compare a string with a variable's value but the if condition is always execute to true. Why?
Here is some code:
Sourcesystem="ABC"
if [ "$Sourcesystem" -eq 'XYZ' ]; then
echo "Sourcesystem Matched"
else
echo "Sourcesystem is NOT Matched $Sourcesystem"
fi;
echo Sourcesystem Value is $Sourcesystem ;
Even this is not working:
Sourcesystem="ABC"
if [ 'XYZ' -eq "$Sourcesystem" ]; then
echo "Sourcesystem Matched"
else
echo "Sourcesystem is NOT Matched $Sourcesystem"
fi;
echo Sourcesystem Value is $Sourcesystem ;
Secondly, can we match this with a NULL or empty string?
7 Answers
You should use the = operator for string comparison:
Sourcesystem="ABC"
if [ "$Sourcesystem" = "XYZ" ]; then
echo "Sourcesystem Matched"
else
echo "Sourcesystem is NOT Matched $Sourcesystem"
fi;
man test says that you use -z to match for empty strings.
-eq is used to compare integers. Use = instead.
eq is used to compare integers use equal '=' instead , example:
if [ 'AAA' = 'ABC' ];
then
echo "the same"
else
echo "not the same"
fi
good luck
I had this same problem, do this
if [ 'xyz' = 'abc' ]; then
echo "match"
fi
Notice the whitespace. It is important that you use a whitespace in this case after and before the = sign.
Check out "Other Comparison Operators".
-eq is the shell comparison operator for comparing integers. For comparing strings you need to use =.
-eq is a mathematical comparison operator. I've never used it for string comparison, relying on == and != for compares.
if [ 'XYZ' == 'ABC' ]; then # Double equal to will work in Linux but not on HPUX boxes it should be if [ 'XYZ' = 'ABC' ] which will work on both
echo "Match"
else
echo "No Match"
fi
Of the 4 shells that I've tested, ABC -eq XYZ evaluates to true in the test builtin for zsh and ksh. The expression evaluates to false under /usr/bin/test and the builtins for dash and bash. In ksh and zsh, the strings are converted to numerical values and are equal since they are both 0. IMO, the behavior of the builtins for ksh and zsh is incorrect, but the spec for test is ambiguous on this.
